The ABC's of 2008

A – Anna turned 5 in July and started Kindergarten in the fall.
B – Emma and Anna both love books!
C - California and Colorado were places we visited this summer.
D – Dave is still working on his Master’s Degree in Administration.
E – Emma turned 7 in March and started 2nd grade in the fall.
F – Facebook… that’s our newest way of keeping in touch.
G – Girls, girly stuff…. That’s our life. :-)
H – We love our new house! Hard to believe it has been a year now since we moved in.
The girls love horses and wish they could have one.
I – Right now everything is coated with ice. We may not have a white Christmas, but it
will be an icy one!
J – Dave and Ronda both got new jobs this year.
K – Kathryn and Grace are the American girl dolls that the girls love playing with.
L – The girls keep us laughing all the time!
M – We miss our friends and family that are so far away!
N – Norwex.
O – Obama….
P –Ronda cut off 9 inches of hair to donate to Pantene for wigs for those with cancer.
Q – We sold our Jeep and bought a Nissan Quest minivan this year.
R – Ronda went back to work after staying home the last 7 years.
S – Squirt turned 11 this year and still is up to some of the same old antics.
Dave continues to play on the church softball team.
T – The girls are still enjoying taking tap dance lessons.
U – We are praying for the uncertainty of our country’s stability.
V – We bought a new vacuum… hey, it starts with a “V”…
W – Westview Elementary School – We are all at the same school this year!
X – Our God is X-cellent.
Y – We hope you all have a great year in 2009.
Z - ____________________________.

Comment on the blog with your own “Z” word for 2008. :-)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

- The Toevs Family

9 inch nails

Ok, not really nails... just hair. 9 inches of hair. gone. from my head.

Here is how it all started... I was starting to grow my hair out. Just for fun. Then my good friend Marcia was diagnosed with breast cancer. In honor of her, I decided to grow my hair to donate. So, I have been growing my hair with that reason in mind for the past year.

Locks of Love will take hair with a minimum of 10 inches and makes wigs for all kinds of hair loss diseases. Which is great! I found out that Pantene also takes hair with a minimum of 8 inches, for hair loss due to cancer. Also great! And since cancer was the reason I was growing mine, I am donating to Pantene.

So, this week I had a 9 inches of hair cut off. I will post pictures soon, but I didn't have my camera with me, so the photos are not on my computer to download. (Or is it upload?) Anyway, pictures to come...

Halloween

So it occurred to me today that I hadn't uploaded any pics from Halloween yet. I thought maybe I should do that... sometime before Christmas. :-) As I was looking at what was on my camera, I noticed that I failed to take many photos. I think (I hope) my mom's camera may have more. For now though, this is what I have of the girls in their costumes. (Thanks a million, Jana, for the Ariel costume! I will send it back ASAP!)

Updates...

My dad...

He is home from the hospital (as of noon today). They plan to do gallbladder surgery in January. For now, he is home on lots of medication. I bet he is happy to sleep in his own bed tonight!

Dave...

He has been home from school this week. Every night he plans to go in the next day. As of now, he plans to go tomorrow. We'll see... He is doing better though. Not much pain... or at least I don't see the pain on his face and he is not doubled over. He goes to the doctor next week.

MGH

So, I was at work today when I got a call from my sister. I thought it was a bit strange that she was calling me on the school phone ("Mrs. Toevs, your sister is on line 2")... then I remembered my cell phone was off. I get on the phone thinking something must be wrong with one of her kids... but no, it was our Dad. He had been admitted to MGH (Marion General Hospital, for those readers outside of Marion). He was having gall bladder pain and they were going to do surgery this afternoon. I quickly left school with a plan that Dave would bring the girls home. It sure is convenient being in the same building for the time being! When I got to the hospital, I learned that surgery was not an option because he has several blood clots in his left leg. This is the same leg that we have been telling him for weeks to get checked out. Since Dad doesn't like going to the doctor, he hadn't done anything about it. Well, God must have decided to make him go to the ER by causing gall bladder pain. Anyway, he is now on complete bed rest and will be in the hospital for several days.
As I was sitting there with my dad, I found out that Dave was in the ER. Terri, a teacher he shares a classroom with, walked in with my girls and said that she and Tami (the school nurse) drove Dave to the ER because he was doubled over in pain. So, I left my dad on the 5th floor and went to see my husband on the 1st floor. He was in SEVERE pain! He was doubled over, practically falling out of the wheelchair he was in. They got him to a bed and gave him some pain medication. That didn't work. So, they brought in some morphine. That didn't work. They brought in some more. At that point they took him to have and abdominal CT scan. By the time he got back, the morphine had kicked in. I am not sure all the pain was gone, but at least at that point he didn't care about the pain.
The scan showed inflammation in his colon. He was released and sent home with a few prescriptions and directions to see the family doctor as soon as possible. For now, that's really all we know. Hopefully, we can figure out soon why the colon is inflamed.
I am thankful that both Dave and my dad were able to get the medical care they needed. I am glad that Dave is not in pain now (he is so drugged up!) and thankful that they caught my dad's blood clots before they went to his heart! God is good.

IKEA...

In a galaxy far, far away...
At a time long, long ago...
Dave and I used to live very near an IKEA store. We furnished our whole house with things from there. We had everything from dishes to couches... rugs, bookcases... you name it, it was from IKEA (unless it was a hand-me-down, of course!). We loved that store. We spent our Friday nights roaming the store... most of the time we didn't have money to spend, but we would just wander and dream. I remember the night before Emma was born I wanted to go into labor, so we went there just to walk around... trying to go into labor (it didn't work... but that's a whole different story!). We miss that place! There are days where we wish we could go there, but all we can do now is flip through pages of the catalog (thanks, Jane for sending us the new one!).
We had our fall break this past week. Dave and I decided to take a day trip and go to to IKEA. We went to Cincinnati, OH just to shop... at one store. We drove 3 hours, shopped 3 hours and drove home 3 hours. That was our day. And boy was it fun!
We bought a lot of things... light fixtures, new cups, a new dresser for Anna, a wire rod for Emma to hang her art work on, a new curtain for the sliding glass door. Oh, how I wish there was an IKEA in Indy! or better yet, in Marion!

Anyone want to cook for me?

Just thought I would ask... it's dinner time and I don't feel like making anything. We are having cake at my sister's later to celebrate my nephew's birthday. Can that count as a meal?

Workin' 9 - 5...

Ok, so I am not Dolly Parton and I am not working 9 - 5. More like 8-3. But still.... it has been an adjustment. I am still not sure when the housework will get done, if ever. I have tried to be good about laundry and dishes. That's about all I can do. At least we wear clean clothes and eat off of clean plates... so what if the table is a mess. And the floors.. ahhh, who cares, right? :-)

Besides not finding the time to do housework, I have not had much computer time lately either. Hence, the lack of posts. Someday I will get it all figured out... or not.

That said, the job is a good one. I do like being back in a school setting. And I have to admit, I like not bringing any of it home with me! It's a pretty good gig... shhh, don't tell anyone! :-)

Now I must go so I can get the dishes done...

Home Grown

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Work

What did I do all week? Well, I went back to work. I started on Tuesday. This week was spent observing (@ Westview) what I will be doing (@ Northview). The job seems like it will be a pretty good job. I will be working in the Waterford Lab (an early literacy computer program) working with mostly K and 1st grade. I think I will like it. I just wish my lab was ready...

The O.C.

A good friend of mine from California sent me this email. I thought it was "post worthy". :-) Not all is exactly true... but most is! People, this is where I came from...

You know you're from Orange County when...

You just paid 4.50 for a gallon of unleaded gasoline.
You most likely voted for Arnold Schwarzenegger- most likely just because you like RoboCop or whatever else.
You watch a police pursuit weekly on the news.
You have been to the mountains, desert, and the beach in the same day.
You have perfected driving with sandals on despite it being illegal (but what cop would enforce it?!?).
You make $60,000 and you’re still considered as the Lower-Middle Class.
You work a second (third?) job just to pay for car insurance.
You have been to the DMV and have wondered what country you are actually in.
You know what In-N-Out is and feel bad for all the other states because they don't have any.
Everyone you know has 3+ phone numbers. Home, Office, mobile, pager, two-way, voicemail.....
You know that if you drive one mile in any direction you will find a McDonald's or a Starbucks.
You have had a class field trip to 'Old Towne' Knott's Berry Farm as a youngster.
You classify new people you meet by their Area Code.
909- Are you kidding me?
310- Too Ghetto...
You've bought oranges, flowers, cherries or peanuts on a freeway off-ramp.
You've partied in Tijuana at least once.
You've inadvertently learned Spanish.
You have thought that 20 years of construction on 22 freeway is enough.It's barely sprinkling rain and there's a report on every news station: "STORM WATCH"
You have watched the show "the OC" and have cried till you've laughed.
You have bypassed a mattress, a folding chair, and a dryer on the freeway while on your way to work.
You shop at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and/or Henry's.
You eat a different ethnic food at every meal.
You think $1200 a month rent is way to good to be true.
You still go to the beach in December.
You own a hybrid vehicle and a Hummer.
Going to Disneyland can be a weekly routine.
You know what "sigalert", "PCH", "CHOC", "OCTFCU" and "the five" mean.
You know where parts of Tom Hanks's That Thing You Do, the Coen Brothers' The Man Who Wasn't There, and Martin Lawrences movie Big Momma's House were filmed.
You go to a tanning salon before going to the beach.
You'll reluctantly miss yoga class to wait for the hot tub repairman.
The "Orange Crush" means more than the soda- i.e. a pain in the rear!
You see the original Batmobile and Kobe Bryant in the same intersection.
All highways into the county say: "no fruits."
All highways out of the county say: "Thanks for Not staying!."
You know five different ways to get anywhere, and which one you choose is based on weather, time of day, and day of the week.
You didn't realize there was a California out of SoCal...

Let your light shine

Me: Annie your smile lights up a room.

Annie: Turn off the light.

So I do. Annie smiles really big.

Me: See it's brighter in here!

Annie: Yeah, it is.

The First Day of School

The first day actually started the night before. We went to a "meet and greet" where we could see the classrooms, meet the teacher, drop off the supplies and eat ice cream.

The first day photos:




The girls had a great first day. I did too, though I was a bit more emotional than I expected. This is a big year for all of us... Dave started a new job, Emma changed schools, Anna started Kindergarten and I have the day with no kids... until the day after Labor Day when I start my new job.

Whirlwind

Our life looks so much different than it did just a week. So much has gone on this week. What you ask? Well, here is a little timeline…

Last Friday - Dave had an interview with Mississinewa Schools. They offered him a position as a Special Education Teacher at Westview. He took it.
Monday - he resigned from Marion Community Schools and began cleaning out his classroom.
Tuesday - I went in to help, and by lunch time, we had loaded up both cars with boxes, posters, area rugs, books and anything else he had in his classroom.
Wednesday – we went to Westview and began moving in.
Thursday – I interviewed at Allen (Dave’s former school) for a Literacy Specialist Position. I had subbed last year in this capacity and now that Anna will be in Kindergarten, I was applying to do it again this year.
Thursday - We decided to send our kids to Westview. They are excited about being at the same school that Daddy works at.
Friday – I had an interview with Mississinewa for an aide position. (I found out before going to the interview that the Literacy Specialist was given to another teacher.) As I was in the interview, I was offered a position as the “Waterford Lab” teacher at Northview. I still don’t know exactly what that will look like. I do know that it will be in a computer lab though. There will be no grading, no take-home work. :-)

A week ago, Dave was working for Marion, our kids were going to Kendall and I was staying home full time. Today, Dave is working for Mississinewa and our kids are going to Westview. I am also working for Mississinewa – no longer a “stay-at-home-mom”, but now a “working mom”. I am excited about all the changes. But, what a whirlwind! I am still trying to wrap my mind around it all.

Finally done!

There are a couple of things that are finally done.

1. All the rooms in our house are painted.
2. The neighborhood pool is done... we had a pool party today for the neighborhood.
3. The load of laundry I am waiting up for is done... now I just have to fold it.
4. This post is done. :-)

Commercial

I have a little commercial for you...

My friend Jane is a good cook. Actually "good" is an understatement. She has tried to help me out since she knows how lame I am in the kitchen. Years ago, she started giving me recipes that even I can use. She even helped me know what kind of pots and pans to buy when we couldn't stand ours any longer. Jane should have her own "Rachael Ray Show"... the "Jane Baldauf Show". Well, she doesn't have a show, but she does have a blog. I have it linked from my blog. If you want to add the link to your blog, it is www.thedinnerdilemma.blogspot.com. You should check it out!

Dream Come True...

Emma loves horses. It started with "My Little Pony". The fascination then went outside the realm of fantasy... crossing over to reality. She wishes we could have a real horse, but she hasn't figured out a way to fit in the backyard.
While we were in Colorado, she was able to get on a real horse. (She even got to go for a short ride on the horse.) What a dream come true!

Anna got a turn too. She was excited, but a little more timid than her older sister.

Denied!

I thought I would catch up on some blog reading today...

I first went to Keetha's blog. It was fun to see pictures of her cute new granddaughter. And it was good to hear her mom is home from the hospital.

Then I thought I would check out Shannon (as in shannonofthewoods). DENIED! Looks like only invited readers can read it. And I am not invited. :-( Shannon, I thought we were friends. Did I upset you? Did I not work hard enough at the feast? Did I not compliment you enough? I said I liked your shoes. Doesn't that count for something?

The Flight!

Yes, that is a photo of lightning hitting an airplane. Fortunately, that wasn't our flight, but it could have been.
We left LAX with out a problem. Security was a breeze for us (thankfully since Anna had to go the bathroom!) Our seating assignments were goofed up and we were all spread out, but we got those changed with three of us together and one just a row behind. We boarded without incident and took our seats in the back of the plane. The plane took off and things were great. We were even scheduled to arrive in Indy a few minutes early.
We flew along for about three hours or so when we saw lightning out the window. YIKES! Then the plane ran into some turbulence. This wasn't your average turbulence though. We were doing some major dropping! The kind like on a roller coaster where your stomach goes up to your throat. People were getting freaked! This was some storm!
We were descending into Indy when it got really bad. As were beginning our approach, the exit lights came on. Not a good sign! That only happens in emergencies! I was doing some serious praying... Dave and I told each other we loved one another, I was talking to God as if I was going to see him soon.
As we were headed down, we suddenly headed up... almost straight up - or so it felt. We were unable to land because the run way was too dangerous. The plane circled the city a couple of times waiting for the storm to pass. We then tried to land again. The exit lights came on again.
We did manage to touch down, and as the brakes were applied, you could feel the plane sliding around. Once again, I was sure we would crash. Thankfully, we didn't.
We had to sit on the run way for about 10 minutes or so while we waited for a gate. The pilot said that if anyone needed to use the restroom, we could. There were several people that did, probably because they were so scared!
We got off the plane (about and hour late) and went to get our luggage. We were scheduled to arrive in Indy at 11pm. We got there at midnight. We had to then wait for our bags because the employees were not allowed on the tar mack to get the luggage off the plane because of the lightning. Finally, the bags came and we got to our car. It was 1am before we were on the road.
We were driving in our Saturn... the car that has broken windshield wipers. And it rained the whole way! Rain-X works though. It was repelling the water and we were able to drive home. We had to take a different route than we usually do because of detours and road closures. Finally, we made it home at about 2:40am. We were in bed by 3am. And Dave had to teach Summer School at 8am the next morning!
So, that is the story of the scariest flight ever. I don't really want to get on a plane anytime soon... but I will. We fly to Colorado July 1.

Day 6

On Sunday, we went to Otto and Norma's church -Arcadia Bible Church. It was a quick visit with folks there, because we had plans for lunch right after church.

Our lunch plans were with the Beamans and the Warmuths... friends of Dave's from long ago. Dave and Darin (Beaman) have been friends since Jr. High and friends with Jeff (Warmuth) since High School. We ate a place called "Dish". Then we went back to Darin and Janie's to hang out. We ended up spending all afternoon playing the "Wii". Dave and I had never done that before. Fun! I was pretty good at bowling. :-)



From Darin's (La Canada Flintridge) we drove to Thousand Oaks to Dave's sister Ruthi's house. Ruthi and Dave (Ruthi's husband) were not home yet but were on their way. They were in Idaho during most of our CA visit. What timing, huh?

We hung out with Grandpa and Grandma for a bit until the fam got home. We stayed the night there and the kids played until it was way too late and woke up way too early to play. Emma had fun with Sammie and Anna had fun with Andy and Johnny.

Johnny, Annie, Andy

Sad Emma and Happy Sammie

"The Cousins"

Day 5 - Westmonsters

Saturday was spent hanging out at Dan and Jane's. It was nice to have no agenda for a few hours! Dave and I were able to go to IKEA and Target... we realized that stores in CA offer a better selection. Too bad we couldn't fit it all in our luggage! We would have bought a lot of stuff if we could've gotten it home somehow.

We had dinner plans with the "Westmont Gang" AKA "Westmonsters". These are friends of mine from college. We met at an outdoor mall and just hung out in the courtyard. It was a good time to reconnect.

Anna and Melissa. I just love this picture.

Rachel, Jen, Lynne, Me, Melissa

Mel and Me

Lynne and Me

Me and Jen (who is pregnant with baby #5!)

Me and Rrrrrrrachel

Day 4 - Seeing Many Friends

We spent our Friday visiting with many friends. It began with lunch at Ruby's Diner on the Balboa Pier. We met with my college roommate, Marcia, and her family. Marcia is battling breast cancer (and she is doing well!) and I really wanted to see her. She is done with chemo and nearing the end of radiation. I am thankful she is doing so well!

The Toevs Fam and The Fox Fam - from left to right, back to front...Ronda, Dave, Marcia, Bryan, Emma, Anna, Ava, Nathan

Family photo on the beach!

After lunch, we went to see our former neighbors... we visited with Amanda, Abby, Lily and Sophie... John was at work, so we didn't get to see him.

This photo is more amazing than you may realize... Anna is IN the water. She went in willingly and all by herself. She even smiled!

Amanda and I were pregnant at the same time with Emma Kathryn and Lily Catherine. They were born 15 days apart. We used to walk daily (because you can in CA!) while pushing our babies in the strollers. These two girls don't remember living next door to each other, but they acted like they have been neighbors for years!

Here are all the girls... Lily, Emma, Sophie, Anna, Abby. Fun times!

After our visit, we went to Boy and Cece's (Roy and Cecelia's) for dinner. I didn't get photos of them though... silly me! It was fun to see them again.

California - Day 3 - Disneyland!

We spent Thursday, June 5 at Disneyland. It was a great day! The weather was perfect. The girls were wonderful. We even got to take Rachel with us. Emma loved that!

Here the girls are in front of the castle... the photo eveyone has to take. Not sure why there is a dark spot in the corner... but at least you can see the girls and the castle in the background.

This picture was taken in line for Space Mountain. Can you believe Anna made the height requirement? Barely, but she did make it. Rachel loves Space Mountain and she was showing Emma and Anna how to dress like they were going into space... sweatshirts on, hoods on. At this point, our girls had no idea what was in store for them. Then we went on the ride... Rachel loved it, Dave loved it, I loved it, Emma and Anna... not so much! They were so freaked! Hope we didn't traumatize them too much!

We happened upon a "Princess Coronation Ceremony". Anna loved seeing Mulan, Belle and Sleeping Beauty.

Emma and Rachel with Minnie just outside Minnie's house. Anna was a little scared, so she didn't want in on the photo.

Anna was scared of Minnie, but not Pooh!

Anna liked Tigger and Eeyore too.

The day really was a "magical" day in the Magic Kingdom. The girls were so great all day. The only thing that would have made the day better was if I was able to connect with some friends that were going to meet us there... that is if only my lame cell phone worked! Sorry Heather and Jen!

Caifornia - Day 2

After we finally got moving around on Wednesday, we went to see Grandpa and Grandma in Arcadia. We went to lunch... at In-N-Out of course! Now that is what a hamburger is all about! (that's their motto too) We hung out in Arcadia for awhile and then headed to Irvine where we had dinner with the Sanders. Dave and I had fun with Brett and Wendy, Emma and Anna had fun with Abby and Gwen.
We knew Brett and Wendy from church, pre-kids and even pre-dogs. We got our pups around the same time. In fact, Sophie (their dog) is Squirts only friend... the only dog she has ever gotten along with! The four of us (6 if you include the dogs) used to do a lot together... meals, camping, watch movies, play basketball (well, Dave and Brett did), just hang out. Then we had kids about the same time. We still did things together... then we moved. We had our second children close together too... only by then we lived miles apart.
We try to visit when we can.

California - Day 1

Our trip began on June 3, Tuesday. There were several detours along the way, but we still managed to make it to the airport on time. We flew to Minneapolis where we were scheduled to have an hour before our next plane to LA. Our seats were scattered, so we waited in line at the ticket counter to get our seats changed. Just before it was our turn, they announced the flight was oversold and they wanted volunteers to take a later flight. Of course we volunteered! (We were the first 4 on the list.) Our new flight left only 2 hours later. They gave us money for dinner, 4 round trip tickets, and vouchers to use for snacks on the plane. We had a great dinner at Chili's and still had vouchers left over. So, we got 2 Starbucks coffees... and 2 frappaccinos... and 2 cookies... finally our money was gone. We boarded the plane and got to LA where our luggage was waiting for us - we were able to bypass waiting at the carousel for our bags. After loading up in our PT Cruiser, we headed to the Baldaufs. Better late than never, right?!
We just love getting bumped. :-)

Here we go!

We are going to California tomorrow! Emma wishes we were already packed. I won't let her start yet. Gotta do laundry first!

Things we are excited about:

• seeing family
• seeing friends
• Disneyland
• In-N-Out Burger
• the beach

What we're not excited about:

• traffic
• smog
• people everywhere
• gas prices (that applies anywhere!)
• not being able to enough time with people
• LAX
• flying in general... it just isn't fun anymore!

Today is a busy day getting ready. There laundry to be done, suitcases to find, 3 ounce bottles to fill, and a house to clean. (I hate leaving a messy house!) Guess I better get busy!

I have a dream...

By Lon Tuin

*My dad spoke at the courthouse on the National Day of Prayer. This is is speech and I thought it was worth publishing. So, I am publishing it for him. :-)

After over 40 year of teaching, coaching, and counseling in public education, I find that like Martin Luther King, I too have dreams. Dreams for Marion and Grant County here in Indiana as well as for the rest of the country. I would like to share some of those dreams.

I dream of a day when we reach a new level of unity for the sake of our children and our future. A day when the board members, custodians, district superintendents, cafeteria workers, teachers, secretaries, parents, administrators, grandparents, coaches, and labor unions all work together to achieve one common goal - the education of the children.

I dream of a day when children are not treated like dairy cattle - force fed for higher production. But rather they are viewed as the bundle of possibility each child represents. A day where each child is encouraged and motivated to learn and achieve to the highest level possible for his/her own good rather than to pass a test or achieve a certain score.

I dream of a day when no child is left behind because we are all pushing him/her to the front.

I dream of a day when schools are inundated with help from, parents, grandparents, and neighbors, politicians, colleges and universities until children feel the whole community is behind them

I dream of a day when the Federal, State and local governments cooperate to provide the funding needed for excellence in education in all communities.

I dream of a day when homes are sold because they accommodate a family not because they are in a certain district or area.

I dream of a day when the graduation rate is as high as the temperature on a hot August day.

I dream of a day when schools are not judged by the color of the skin of their students but how green the school operates.

I dream of a day when violence is not a part of the school day. When students respect each other and feel safe in their environment. Where the feeling of mutual respect by school personnel is contagious and is caught by every student in the school.

I dream of a day when honorable educators are highly respected by our community because they are training the leaders of tomorrow.

I dream of a day when kindergartners start to dream of college.

I dream of a day when colleges and universities across America are swamped by admission requests from students who are qualified and anxious to further their training and education.

I dream of a day when funding will be available to all students who want to attend those colleges of their choice.

I dream of a day when college recruiters come regularly and often to sign not only the athletes but also the artists, musicians, and the students of science, history, English and foreign languages.

Lofty dreams? Perhaps. But my dreams nevertheless. I hope you will join me in praying that these dreams become a reality and then working in our community to become an answer to our prayer.

Someone Said I Had To - - -

Participate in a game of tag.

Four Jobs I've Held

1) Disneyland Cast Member - not as glamorous as it sounds. I worked in "food services", basically at a fast food restaurant in Fantasy Land... Village Haus. I hated the costume!
2) Babysitting. One time had to call my mom to come help me because the kids were throwing their toys at me. I could not get them to do anything. I told their parents and was never called again... good thing, because there wasn't enough money to make me ever say yes to them again!
3) T.A. for a professor in college. That was a great gig! Good pay and no stress.
4) Teaching elementary school... that was the most rewarding job.... but not as rewarding as my current job... being a mom!

Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over


1) The Princess Bride
2) Napoleon Dynamite
3) The Wedding Singer
4) Any sappy John Hughes romantic comedy from the 80's.

Four Places I've Lived


1) The house I grew up in Santa Ana, CA - 15 minute drive from the beach.
2) Irvine, CA... about a 12 minute drive from the beach.
3) Santa Barbara, CA... 5 minutes from the beach.
4) Marion, IN - forever from the beach!

Four TV Shows I Like


1) The Office
2) Biggest Loser
3) Grey's Anatomy
4) CSI

Four Favorite Foods

1) Mexican
2) Chinese
3) Italian
4) Chocolate

Four Places I'd Like to Be

1) The Beach!
2) In my new house (where I am right now)
3) Hawaii - a dream I am not sure will ever be realized.
4) On vacation.

Four People I Tag


1) Marion - my cousin, not the city.
2) Shannon as in Shannon of the Woods.
3) Angie - seriously!
4) Jaena - who doesn't have anything else to do, right?

Keetha, this is for you...

...and for anyone else that cares...

Here is a picture of Emma ready for the "Luhow"

I took Emma to tap and Dave had dinner all ready for us when we got home. I thought his presentation was worth sharing.

Luau

Tomorrow night is the Spring Carnival at Kendall. It is a Luau theme. Emma is so excited to be at the "LuHow". She gets to dress up "hawatiian" for school. I love how the simple things make her happy. I also love how she pronounces things. The sad thing is, is that she is growing up too fast and truthfully, she doesn't say "hawatiian" anymore. But she still says "luhow". I love it!

We finally did it...

What did we do, you ask? Well, we actually bought a MINIVAN! Can you believe it? We tried to hold out... but the pressure finally got to us. I am now the typical "minivan driving mom". We bought a Nissan Quest... no, not a new one; just an old one that is new to us. It is actually a 1997, so it is pretty old. The sad thing is, is that 1997 doesn't seem like it was that long ago...but 11 years have gone by since then. Where did that time go?


Know anyone who wants to buy a really fun Jeep Cherokee? We have a 2000 Cherokee Sport (with just under 70,000 miles) for sale. It has 4 wheel drive and a towing package. We just put 2 new tires on it and the other 2 were replaced just a few months ago. Interested? We'll make you a great deal.

A Must See

Dave found a great video. It's a must see. Have fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTYr3JuueF4

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I promised some photos, and here they are. See, that didn't take too long, did it? :-)

At Build-A-Bear Workshop

The new bike

The cake (chocolate, of course!)

Twinners!

The party will continue tomorrow...

She's Seven!

Yesterday we celebrated Emma's seventh birthday. I can't believe she's seven. Seems like yesterday I was laying on an O.R. table getting cut open and hearing the doctor say, "Look at all that hair!" That was then followed by, "It's a girl!" My thoughts when I first saw Emma were: 1. I can't believe I have a daughter!
2. She's beautiful!
3. She looks like a little Norma! (She looked just like her Grandma.)

Now that baby is seven. She had a good birthday, getting everything on her list. :-) She got a new bike, a matching outfit with her American Girl Doll, aqua colored crocs. She also got clothes for her Build-a-Bear on Saturday. (Thanks G'ma & G'pa for the birthday $!)

The party will continue too... Saturday is her party with her friends. Fun, fun, fun!

Pictures will come soon... I promise! :-)

13 years ago...

Today marks 13 years since Dave and I had our very first date. We were set up on a blind date March 5, 1995. It was the best blind date ever! :-)

Where did it go?

I thought about changing my template today. When I clicked on it, it said it had to update the templates. I thought I might get some new options to choose from... how exciting. That wasn't the case. And now my links have disappeared. Where did they go? Do you have any idea how hard I worked to get those links there in the first place?!? I want them back!

10

I just wanted to share 10 things I am thankful for:

1. I have a great family (immediate and extended) who love me.
2. I have great friends (near and far, old and new) who love me.
3. Warm sunshine.
4. The freedom to worship God.
5. Dave has a job.
6. We live in a great house.
7. My girls get to grow up with snow, the beauty of spring, the joys of summer and the fall of leaves... in other words, they get to experience the beauty of all the seasons.
8. We finally have access to the internet.
9. We go to a great church.
10. We have a Starbucks in Marion. :-)

Of course there is much more and this list is in no particular order. I just was thinking this morning about things I am thankful for and thought I would jot down a few. What are you thankful for?

Facebook Phenomenon

I have had several friends tell me to join Facebook. I have not done it, until today... mostly because I just haven't had time to sit down and try to figure it out. Of course the lack of internet proved to be a reason too.
Now that I have joined the "cult" as one friend said, I have found a few things to be true:

• It is fun to be able to be in contact with many friends from many stages of life.
• I have been able to reconnect with people I haven't spoken with in years... and I have only been apart of this since about 1:00 this afternoon.
• The trouble with it is that I don't want to leave the computer... I want to know how many friends I have (I am up to 20 so far) and I want to see who is leaving comments.
• I think people comment more on Facebook than on blogs!
• Like anything new, it is addicting at the start.

But can anyone tell me what a "poke" is?

Friends

As I sit here cooped up all day with a sick child, I begin to think of things I wish I could do. Here is the start of my list:

• feel the warmth of sunshine (and 75 degrees!)
• feel warm sand between my toes as I hear the crashing of waves upon the seashore (Can you tell I miss California?)
• drink a good cup of coffee while laughing with a friend (not drinking my boring coffee while sitting at my computer)
• get back to my scrap booking... never mind, that sounds like too much work :-)
• hang out with my CA buddies (did I mention I miss CA?)

I guess what I really wish I could do is take a trip to CA. I really enjoying living here and I have made some great friends here. But there will always be a spot in my heart for California. Today as Anna is laying in bed sick, I too am feeling sick... homesick, that is.

I think what really got me feeling this way was something that happened this weekend. So let me back up...

Dave recently got an email from an old college friend of his. Somehow, An found Dave's email address. Turns out he lives in Illinois and has a brother in Fishers. This weekend he and his family (his wife and two girls) were making a trip to Fishers to see his brother. So we made plans to connect. An and Michelle came to our house Sunday. We hadn't seen them since their wedding December of '95... 12 years ago. It was great to reconnect and to meet their girls. Dave and An talked about college days and it made me miss my college friends. It was great to have friends we knew in CA sitting in our living room in Indiana.

Then yesterday I got a call from one of my college friends. (It was great talking to you, Melissa!) I love having friends that when you talk, you can simply pick up where you left off, even if it has been a long time between conversations!

I am not trying to minimize any of my friendships that I have here. I have made some great friends here in the last 5 1/2 years. I can't imagine living anywhere else and if I did, I would deeply miss my friends here. I wish all the people I love could be in the same place at the same time. :-) Then I wouldn't have to miss any of you!

For all of you in CA that are reading, know that I miss you.

For those reading here in IN, know that I am thankful for you.

I don't know how I did it...

BUT I GOT THE INTERNET FROM MY OWN HOUSE!!!

My parents have wireless internet and we have been trying for months now to access it from our house and have been unable to do it. We have tried many things, and asked advice from all the computer "geeks" we know. (I don't mean to offend any of you that we asked for help!) All this has left us so frustrated and stumped - and not connected!

Dave is away tonight at a conference and I thought I would give it another try. I don't know what I did, but after a long time trying, I suddenly was connected. I DID IT!!!! YIPEE!!!!

So now that I am on here with my own computer, I think I will add a few photos of what we have been up to. Here goes...

My mom recently found this dress... I wore it in a wedding when I was Anna's age.

Emma had her best friend, Camille sleep over.

My parents took the girls to see "Arthur Live" at eh Honeywell Center. The girls had a blast!

Happy Valentine's Day...

a day late.